TC Titanium impressions versus Flex

[carlb28]

We just traded a Ford Flex for the TC Titanium.

Main reasons for the trade were we needed seating, but didn't need the towing capabilities of the Flex. We also wanted something that gets better gas mileage. Knowing this here is a billeted list of what we have noticed thus far:
Edited 1/1/2015 - added a few elements to the ugly section.
Good
Auto up and auto down windows
Awesome overhang with rear lift gate
Second row seating room
Overhead storage
Third row slides forward and back
Auto headlamps
Auto windshield wipers
Turning lights(when foglights are off)
Wind buffeting is minimal with all 4 windows down
Visibility
Ford cross bars are easy to get set up and inexpensive
Rear camera
Parking sensors front and rear

Bad
Cannot disable DRL
Adjusting rear AC is not possible from main dash.
Very firm seats
No power option for rear lift gate


UGLY
Navigation system cost more than my Garmin 760 and is less usable

Headliner gap between driver cabin and cargo area.

Vehicle was delivered with a mySync system that was not updated (expect a correction)

Cannot turn cabin lights on (expect a correction)

Third row air vents do not fully close(expect a correction)

Gas mileage avg <= 19mpg (expect a correction)

Folding mirrors do not always unfold allowing vehicle to operate with mirrors that are not working. (expect a correction)

Heating system for rear passengers is inadequate. (expect a correction)

Anyone else got anything to add or tips on how to better use/understand my new vehicle?

Edited January 2, 2015 by carlb28

[mrgone]

Please advise as to how your rear seating heating system is operating. I am totally fed up with Ford telling me that cold air blowing on my passengers (when the exterior temeperature is 20F) is normal. This is a poorly designed system and needs an apology and a fix from Ford. My biggest problem is that in over 50 years of driving everything from Camaro to multiple Volkswagens, Pugeot 504, Saab 96, GMC Suburban, Toyota, Volvo 240 wagon and Volvo 760 turbo wagon, and Honda Element (which I still have and love), this is the first time I ever considered even looking at a Ford...and this is my experience. My Element is completely warm and comfortable within minutes after starting no matter how cold it is. I've lived in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Duluth, Chicago, Boston and Virginia Beach. I am very experienced with cold weather. The Transit Connect is the first vehicle that has not had an adequate rear heater. Why? Perhaps the weather is much more moderate in Valencia, Spain (where it was built). Or perhaps it is just a Ford thing. I am more than disappointed. By the way, I paid more than $350.00 to my dealer for the two crossbars for the roof on my Transit Connect. They had to special order them. I fail to consider that price inexpensive.

Edited January 1, 2015 by mrgone

[carlb28]

As I live in Florida I have yet to need to use the heater for heavy use yet. Maybe we should post some videos on YouTube about the issues, showing the lack of expected performance in some areas. The other night I did turn it on with your postings in mind and was not impressed with what I felt coming out to the vents.

I think that the transit connect in Europe is mostly used as a work van thus the heater/AC is likely an addition they put on at the port for the wagon versions.

I also have another thing that I have found to be a huge safety issue. The folding mirrors will sometimes not unfold and allow you to drive off with the side mirrors In an unusable position.

The roof rack with crossbar option is only $195 on my vehicle when purchased with the original vehicle. Your dealership must have sourced Yakima or Thule crossbars as they cost that much.

[windguy]

Regarding Roof Racks, there's a thread that discusses this same subject

http://fordtransitconnectforum.com/topic/2406-roof-attachment-points-on-2014-transit-connect/?hl=%2Broof+%2Bracks#entry6928

As Carlb28 said, when ordered as an option, it's reasonable. As a Ford Accessory or Spare Part, it's extremely unreasonable.

And to get roof rails, which you can't order on the van model, it's priced way beyond reasonable. That's an option I really wanted and need so I will have to come up with another option on my own.

Regarding the vehicle being made in Spain and if that influences the design of the heater, I don't think so. It's just a manufacturing plant. The designers at Ford corporate are responsible for that poor design.

I think Carlb28 touched on a very interesting point about the design goals of the van being Euro based. I get the feeling after reading some of the complaints (heating and lighting) are more based around the wagon/passenger version compared to the van/cargo version. If the cargo van had a bulkhead then rear climate control and lighting would be of little concern. So if Ford's primary goal for this van is for commercial use then that's the way it was designed. Converting it for passenger use was done through some add on mods, which aren't exactly well thought out. We're well aware the wagon lacks some of the amenities that a fully loaded Honda or Toyota van would have, like DVD/Entertainment options, power sliding doors and power rear hatch. It would be interesting to know the break down of cargo vs passenger sales for North America and Europe.

Hope you guys can work out the bugs and start to enjoy your new van.

Cheers!

Edited January 1, 2015 by windguy

[carlb28]

So I have set up an appointment with my local ford dealership to begin to get the items in the Ugly section looked at. My cabin light question I also posted to Twitter directed at the ford service alias, but they were unable to get an answer until their expert returns on the fifth. In my correspondence on Twitter, I mentioned other issues that I was taking the vehicle to the dealer for, and they asked what the other issues were. I shared this post, which made them immediately ask for contact and vehicle information so they could pass it along to a regional customer service DM. We shall see how this goes. I also engaged my salesman and the general manager after I scheduled my appointment.

[windguy]

So I have set up an appointment with my local ford dealership to begin to get the items in the Ugly section looked at. My cabin light question I also posted to Twitter directed at the ford service alias, but they were unable to get an answer until their expert returns on the fifth. In my correspondence on Twitter, I mentioned other issues that I was taking the vehicle to the dealer for, and they asked what the other issues were. I shared this post, which made them immediately ask for contact and vehicle information so they could pass it along to a regional customer service DM. We shall see how this goes. I also engaged my salesman and the general manager after I scheduled my appointment.

good job Carlb28. Glad to hear you're getting some attention.

Sorry for my lack of social media skills, but where is it tweeted and how does Ford pick that up?

[carlb28]

So during my ordering issues, I "tagged" ford and fordservice. Within the twitter system this is done by finding the handle/username for a particular entity and putting an @ sign in front of the name. In the full web browser version, it will autocomplete and find names of interest for you. In my case I Simply started typing @Ford and It give me a list of things to type. Also you can use what they call hashtags, which is a fancy way of saying a keyword, and in this case maybe use "#FordTransitConnect" . People in Twitter can search for posts to the wall of individuals, like ford and fordservice, as well as the hashtags. If enough instances of a hash tag occur, it is marked as significant and is listed as trending. As you can imagine, no one wants bad press.

I already have a case number assigned and my customer service rep has already called me. She cannot do much until the dealership takes a look at it tomorrow. BTW, this is the came regional manager that I interacted with for the ordering issues.

[windguy]

@carlb28 - thanks for taking the time to explain about the twitter process. Very good explanation.

My overall impressions of Twitter were that it's another worthless social media outlet, but in this case I can see how it has some beneficial value. I gather there's a group at Ford that's responsible for monitoring the social media sources and has tools that lets them know when there's something they need to respond to. It's good that Ford is taking responsibility and providing assistance to make sure you're getting help with your issues. Hopefully they can be correctly quickly. Please keep us posted.

[carlb28]

As an it guy, I held off on Twitter until this year believe it or not. Apparently there are tools for companies to handle Twitter just as easily if not better than email. As you are limited to 140 characters, you gotta be brief and succinct . When they queried about my other issues, I found no good means to put them all in 140 characters so I linked to my post here.. I just set my alarm so I don't oversleep and miss my appointment in the morning.

[carlb28]

Sigh. So the dealership is saying everything is working as "designed"(cabin lighting, heater). The mirrors are not misbehaving at the moment. This is my shocked face...

Now we dial up the pressure. If Ford is selling this as a passenger vehicle, it should have some basic capabilities and functions, heating and lighting are some of them.

[windguy]

@carlb28 - sorry to hear you didn't have better news from your service call.

re the mirrors - are your folding mirrors manual like on the cargo version?

Didn't think the Titanium or any TC has a automatic mirror option.

So if you manually fold the mirror in it's difficult to move it back into position?

re the rear heater performance and inability to control cabin lights from the driver's seat, have you compared these features with other passenger vans/wagons on the market?

I'd take a look at each vehicle to see how these features work: Odyssey, Sienna, Sedona, Grand Caravan/T&C, Quest, Mazda 5, NV200. The NV200 in particular because it's a close competitor to the TC in terms of features, it's not in the luxury minivan class and both are promoted as being a taxicab option. I would think a taxicab driver would want to be able to turn on the passenger cabin area lights when needed and provide adequate heat for passengers.

This research would give you lots of ammo to help build a case with Ford regarding these design flaws.

Ford seems to be promoting the "unminivan" pretty strongly compared to the cargo version so they must be interested in expanding their market share for passenger vans.

Edited January 3, 2015 by windguy

[103west43rd]

windguy, the 2011-2013 Transit Connect taxi had a dash switch to turn on the rear cabin lights. I was in a NV200 taxi last weekend and the driver could turn on the rear cabin lights from the dash. The only help that info is to carlb28 is if the 2014-2015 Transit Connect taxi has a dash mounted rear cabin light switch (I would think so) and it could be installed in 2014-2015 non-taxi Transit Connects.

[carlb28]

Minivan or not, the ability for the driver to illuminate the entire cabin has never been a "nice to have" option on ANY vehicle I have ever driven, barring of course the military vehicles. My Honda Odyssey that was three vehicles ago had this option. If I find myself at another dealer it will be to trade this vehicle in. So in a word, UNACCEPTABLE. As I told the service/customer relations manager, there are enough buttons in the cabin, there is no reason why an update to the ecu couldn't be made that makes a long press simulate the same action as a door opening.

Heater issues, well I will be using my IR thermometer to measure output soon. Also the rear vent design, does not close worth a darn. As the SWB doesn't have a third row of seats, I doubt that this is there or even a concern. However the Titanium is LWB ONLY, which is one of the reasons I chose this model as two 7yo and a 5yo cannot fit well on the second row. I fashioned some streamers onto some card stock and took videos of the second row vent open and closed as well as the third row. This is simply a BAD design.

Show me any OTHER vehicle with three rows of seating that cannot tun on the cabin lights, I think the transit connect is the first to carry this distinction.

Not sure if the other versions have the folding mirrors, but I know it is part of the Titanium package. I have to isolate how to make it stay folded, but you can also fold them while driving, just let some liability lawyer get ahold of that one....

[windguy]

windguy, the 2011-2013 Transit Connect taxi had a dash switch to turn on the rear cabin lights. I was in a NV200 taxi last weekend and the driver could turn on the rear cabin lights from the dash. The only help that info is to carlb28 is if the 2014-2015 Transit Connect taxi has a dash mounted rear cabin light switch (I would think so) and it could be installed in 2014-2015 non-taxi Transit Connects.

good input. thanks for sharing.

[carlb28]

OK on the mirror issue, I can finally get the fault to repeat itself.

Everything works fine when you turn off ignition, exit vehicle and use the key fob to lock the vehicle.

If you turn off the ignition and hit the fold mirror button, that is the position they will remain in until you engage the button again. When you unlock the vehicle it does not sense that they are folded and unfold them.

When they updated mySync, they did not notify ford, so it looks like it is outdated in their portal.

[james13619]

By now I would think everyone would know that ALL TC are built as wagons with ALL seats, belts, windows.

Ford ships them to a Free Economic Zone in Baltimore where, ",,, windows, never squeegeed at a gas station, and seats, never touched by human backsides, are promptly ripped out ,,, the fabric is shredded, the steel parts are broken down, and everything is sent off along with the glass to be recycled ..."

In an odd twist of fate Ford was a major supporter of the law they now are evading.

This article is about Gen1, built in Turkey, but nothing has changed except the Gen2 is now built in Spain.

To Outfox the Chicken Tax, Ford Strips Its Own Vans

http://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB125357990638429655

So any talk about TCs being 'designed as cargo vans' is simply off base. They've been WAGONS in Europe since their very first in carnation.

Here's a link to a more current article which specifically states the practice continues:

http://blog.caranddriver.com/feds-watching-fords-run-around-on-chicken-tax-riles-customs-officials/

[windguy]

So any talk about TCs being 'designed as cargo vans' is simply off base. They've been WAGONS in Europe since their very first in carnation.

thanks for sharing those articles. While I enjoy a good discussion, I think calling someone's opinion "off base" is a little harsh for this forum.

Ironically, both articles provide statements that actually support the TC as being primarily a cargo van design, Provided below are a few quotes. If Ford never offered a passenger version of the TC, then they couldn't skirt the chicken tax unless they took the path of the Sprinter and unassembled the van for export. I think the Gen 1 was primarily marketed as a cargo van. With Gen 2, Ford is trying to expand into the passenger van market with the unminivan compaign.

"Ford launched the Transit Connect in 2002. The compact commercial van with a distinctive raised roof was designed to haul goods through urban areas with tight streets."

"When gas prices spiked, Ford saw a market among small-business owners in the U.S."

"On a recent afternoon, a handful of vans passed through the warehouse unmolested as passenger wagons. But the vast majority were lined up to have windows pulled out, and they all had their rear seats removed."

"Even though most of its customers order the two-seat, stripped-out commercial model, Ford ships every Transit Connect to the Port of Baltimore in five-passenger Wagon trim"

"He even referenced our own first drive review to demonstrate that the vehicle was really designed to carry cargo, not people."

[carlb28]

Vehicles where the bulk of the interior space does not have proper HVAC consideration for all seats, or the conventional norms for lighting design are ignored, then it indicates that passengers in the additional 5 seats were an afterthought. These items are not anything that one might question as they are considered NORMAL for passenger vehicles, and as such we would assume that these are basic functions implicit in the design and functionality of the vehicle.

As we assumed these were standard features for Passenger vehicles, we feel a bit betrayed by the lack of proper design and testing on behalf of Ford which we have only discovered post sale.

Having done a little research while awaiting my vehicle, the generation being sold today has been around since 2013. Using the Etis site, if one can read anything into it, the dwg files for the passenger vans all carry a sequence number in the teens, yet the cargo vans are the lower numbers. LWB Van with liftgate - File name DC-DT11-010000-005.dwg yet LWB Kombi 7 seat liftgate - file name DC-DT11-010000-D013.dwg

To reiterate what I wanted/needed - seating for 6, where three of these are all in car seats for at least the next 5 years, so smaller was not an option. I knew some elements were going to be basic when I looked at this vehicle and I was fine with these (lack of power doors and hatch for instance). I also was looking for something light to tow with my RV that can safely tow up to 5000lb. The EPA Mileage figures are also much more attractive than what I was getting in my Ford Flex.

For what I spent on a TC Titanium, there are quite a few decent options that would increase the luxury features and storage capabilities but yes they would be a used vehicle.

[Ccrew]

This article is about Gen1, built in Turkey, but nothing has changed except the Gen2 is now built in Spain.

To Outfox the Chicken Tax, Ford Strips Its Own Vans

http://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB125357990638429655

Here's a link to a more current article which specifically states the practice continues:

http://blog.caranddriver.com/feds-watching-fords-run-around-on-chicken-tax-riles-customs-officials/

Ford started paying the tariff in mid-2013. Even your "more current article" is from January of that year.

"Now Ford has a new Transit Connect van, made in Spain, that adheres to the letter of the existing law"

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2014/04/current-negotiations-could-end-chicken-tax.html